


1. Blank

by Aaymeirah



Series: The trouble with talking books [1]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Exploring the Library, Gen, Magical Artifacts, Talking Books, gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22918075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaymeirah/pseuds/Aaymeirah
Summary: Cassandra goes off by herself to explore the Library for interesting artifacts.A talking book puts her in a situation she can't refuse.
Series: The trouble with talking books [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647235
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Purimgifts 2020





	1. Blank

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iceshade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceshade/gifts).



Cassandra walked down a long, expansive aisle of the Library with no particular destination in mind. When they had some downtime in between magical issues the Clipping book sent them to deal with, one of her favorite activities was to explore the Library, browse the books, but most especially figure out how the artifacts worked. They kept the artifacts safe- but what was the point of them all gathering dust? No one else was around- Eve and Flynn were on a date, Ezekiel and Jones were who knows where and before walking off, Cassandra had confirmed that Jenkins was deeply engrossed in le morte d’Arthur, grumbling at all the things it had gotten wrong about Camelot.

With a thump, a book fell off a shelf and landed spine open on the floor. Cassandra hurried over to it and picked it up. It’s red cover was dusty enough that just by breathing on it, a cloud of dust billowed up and made her cough. Cassandra gently wiped some of the grime off the cover. No title. The leather cover stuck to the first few pages, she gently pried them open. Blank pages. She flipped through. Nothing. Odd, thought Cassandra as she got onto tiptoes to re-shelve the book and continue with her aimless exploring.

A spindle which spun straw into gold was two corners and one flight of stairs down, she figured she might as well continue her exploration into the science behind it. Let them disparage mathemagics as much as they wanted, she firmly believed that it was vital to the Library for them to understand how the world interacted with the artifacts they recovered. And how they could be used safely- if at all.

On a pedestal where assorted crystal balls lay, a flash of red caught her eye. It was the red book that had fallen off a book shelf ago. Weird. Cassandra frowned and walked over. How had it gotten all the way over here? She flipped through the pages, blank- except for one page covered in black ink. Cassandra looked at it uncomprehending for a moment before registering the fact that it was her face staring back at her. It moved, winking.

She dropped the book in surprise.  


“Ow!” her voice exclaimed from the book, “watch what you’re doing!”  


“You just talked!”  


“Duh, you gave me your face so now I can talk. Thanks for that by the way, you have no idea how lonely it gets in here with all these blank pages.”

Cassandra cautiously bent over to pick up the book and look at her face, which was smirking.  


“What are you?”  


“I’m a magic book. Duh. I, however, prefer to think of myself as a collector of knowledge.”  


“Because you- take faces?”  


“And scenes, and words. Even now, if you flip to the front, what you’re saying is appearing.”

She flipped to the front to see their conversation, along with a handy narration of what she was doing in between lines of dialogue appearing even as she continued to read.  


“Okay, so what do you want?”  


“What makes you think I want anything?” the book asked. Cassandra swore she could hear a smirk in it’s voice.  


“The fact that you fell on the ground or transported yourself or whatever twice into my path.”  


“Okay, you have a point.”  


“So, what do you want?”  


“I want you to carry me around with you, just for a day. I want my pages filled. What use is a blank book after all?”  


“Why would I do that?”

Despite her misgivings and the fact that talking with an artifact that had her own face would probably make Eve have a fit, her curiosity was piqued.  


“Because I’ve noticed you. You walk the aisles of the Library, just like the others. But unlike them, you’re actually interested in the artifacts that line it’s walls. In putting us to use. You’re the most likely to agree to fill me up with a story.”  


“There’s a reason you were shelved blank. Isn’t there. Why would you be shelved without this story that you want?”  


“Whoever shelved me probably got annoyed or something.”

She considered the book staring at her hopefully, a plotting gleam in ink her’s eyes that she was sure was hardly ever present in her own eyes.  


“Interesting, but I’ve got a spindel to investigate. You’ll have to be satisfied with this conversation,” she said. Cassandra began to walk back towards the shelves.  


“Wait!” the book screeched, face turning ugly. “One day, that is all I ask.”  


“You can’t make me,” Cassandra taunted.

The sooner she found out what this book was capable of, the sooner she would get out of this increasingly uneasy situation.  


“Oh yes I can!” The book sent tendrils of ink to the page opposite the one bearing her face, arranging itself into a hand. The hand grabbed a lock of hair and pulled.  


“Ow!” she cried, putting a hand to her skull.  


“I have your face, I have you. Anything I do to the idea of you that I have, you feel. One day, I will release you then.”  
Cassandra glared at the book.  


“Fine, have it your way,” Cassandra slammed the book shut, effectively cutting off it’s voice.

She had to talk to Jenkins.


End file.
